State Funding to Relocate Two State Entities

Joint Budget Committee. The bill facilitates the department of revenue's (department) relocation from the state-owned building at 1881 Pierce Street, in Denver (Pierce Street building), to a vacant facility at the Auraria higher education center. In addition, the bill facilitates the potential relocation of the state historical society's (also known as history Colorado) north storage facility, which houses the state's historic collection, to the Pierce Street building if the state historical society determines that the Pierce Street building suits its needs. Specifically, the bill:

• Requires the general assembly to reduce the general fund appropriation to the department in the executive director's office for the purpose of leased space by $400,000 for the 2025-26 state fiscal year and each state fiscal year thereafter through the 2028-29 state fiscal year and requires the general assembly to make a corresponding increase in the general fund appropriation to the department in the executive director's office for the purpose of operating expenses for the same fiscal years;
• Increases the July 1, 2024, transfer from the general fund to the capital construction fund by $1,933,931;
• Authorizes history Colorado to use up to $1,600,000 from money in the state museum cash fund in the 2024-25 state fiscal year to provide a zero interest loan to the department to facilitate the department's relocation to the Auraria higher education center;
• Requires the department to repay any loan made by the state historical society in an amount equal to at least $400,000 per year until the loan is repaid in full and to complete the loan repayments by June 30, 2029; and
• Beginning July 1, 2027, and continuing through June 30, 2029, allows the state historical society to reduce the required minimum cash fund balance in the state museum cash fund by the amount of the loan the state historical society has made to the department as authorized in the bill.

In addition, the bill appropriates the following for the 2024-25 state fiscal year and specifies that for each appropriation, any money not expended prior to July1, 2025, is further appropriated to the same entity for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 state fiscal years for the same purpose:

• $2,250,000 from the state museum cash fund to the department of higher education for use by history Colorado for capital construction related to the potential relocation of the history Colorado storage facility to and renovation of the Pierce Street building;
• $1,600,000 from reappropriated funds received from history Colorado pursuant to the bill to the department for capital construction related to consolidation into a vacant facility on the Auraria higher education campus; and
• $1,933,931 from the capital construction fund to the department for capital construction related to consolidation into a vacant facility on the Auraria higher education campus.
  (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)